


Life as a Breeder

by Kitkatless



Category: Promare (2019)
Genre: Alternative Universe - Breeders, Alternative Universe - Businessmen, Angst, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Breeding, Dark fic, Drugged Lio Fotia, Fluff, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Lots of Angst, M/M, Male Pregnancy, Mpreg, Multi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Slight Violence, Starved Lio Fotia, Will probably not get that one right, implied infanticide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:14:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23052292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitkatless/pseuds/Kitkatless
Summary: "This wasn’t real, Galo was sure of it. But as he saw the skinny, blond boy, chest heaving, stomach big and misshapen, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. The boy in front of him was pregnant, and he was in labour, very much so. And Galo had front tickets for the show."-This is a very dark, very twisted idea I had. If you don't like suffering Lio, then this fic is not for you. But if you do, please continue :D(CURRENTLY ON HIATUS)
Relationships: Aina Ardebit/Thyma, Lio Fotia/Galo Thymos
Comments: 64
Kudos: 218





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is gonna be dark, it's gonna be angsty, but I hope you'll read it anyway ^^
> 
> "When two become one more..." will still be updated (someday :') ), but for now I'm trying to beat a writer's block, so I'm just writing whatever comes to mind. The result is one of the darkest idea I've had for a while, and while I put up lots of warnings, this fic won't be that bad or graphic. Still I'm trying to warn people, so that no one reads this and feels bad afterwards. 
> 
> All I wanna say is happy reading!

This wasn’t real, Galo was sure of it. But as he saw the skinny, blond boy, chest heaving, stomach big and misshapen, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. The boy in front of him was pregnant, and he was in labour, very much so. And Galo had front tickets for the show.

-

It wasn’t like Galo knew about the boy, much less that he was pregnant. He was going to a business meeting far away at something called “Foresight and Co.”, a large company selling tech, weapons, and lots of other stuff in their other branches of the company. 

While Galo wasn’t looking forward to the meeting, he knew he had to go because Foresight and Co. was interested in buying his boss Ignis Ex’ small company, Burning Rescue, a company which sold fireproof equipment for both industries and the hard worker’s house. 

Chairman Kray had welcomed Galo with a polite smile and an open arm, the other one was gone. On the way he had explained Galo that he had lost the arm in an fire, and that was why he was so interested in buying Burning Rescue, so that the rest of the world wouldn’t end up sharing his sad story.

Galo, being the optimist he was, showed the sleeve of his burnt arm, explaining that the equipment Ignis had made had saved his arm when he had been too close to a bonfire.

Bonding over their traumatic experiences, Kray invited the younger man to dinner in his penthouse, which was in the same building as his company’s headquarters. That way he could always do work, if he couldn’t sleep or was bored.

After one too many drinks, Kray took Galo to his bedroom. Galo was astounded by the luxury of the modern room, and while he was very intoxicated, he could appreciate the wonder of it all. 

“This is nice…” he slurred, sitting on the bed and feeling the soft covers. Galo was just a representant for Burning Rescue, all his money went to nice suits and dinner meetings. He would never could afford such lavish possessions himself.

Kray just smiled, then lowered his voice, making it husky. “I have something even nicer here… Want to see it?” He wasn’t drunk at all, but all pleasantries were gone. It was like there was a darker side to this man, a side Galo had yet to experience. 

Too drunk to sense the danger, Galo got up on unsteady feet and gave his biggest smile to the much larger man. “Yessir!”

Kray went to a bookshelf and seemed to take a book out, but he just turn on a mechanism that would open up to a secret room. He waited for Galo to follow before he got into the dark room. “I have many prized possessions in my home… But this is my most prized possession.” Kray whispered in Galo’s ear, before turning the light on.

A single light bulb illuminated a small storage. It wasn’t very impressive, and Galo was just about to complain after being so hyped, but then he noticed the small form sitting on the floor. Galo’s eyes narrowed as he tried to look closer, tried to figure out what this was. And that’s when he realised: It was a boy. A small, thin boy with long, blond hair, clad only in a pair of briefs. A collar was around his neck, chaining him to the wall, not that he needed it; his body seemed so frail, so thin from misuse, it was clear that he had been here for a while. But the most incredible thing was the way his stomach bulged out in front of him. It was as big as a watermelon, a strange sight.

“Why’s he so fat?” Galo slurred, brows furrowed as his drunken mind tried to figure everything out.

Kray just laughed at that, a hearty laugh, that would have seemed very kind for anyone other than him. “He’s not fat, Mr. Thymos. He’s pregnant.”

“Pregnant…?” Gears turning in his head, Galo tried to make sense of it all. “You mean there’s a baby inside him?”

Kray gave Galo a patient smile and nodded. “Yes, there’s a baby inside him. And it should be ready soon, too.” He said as he got closer to the boy, looking at a calendar hung above his head. “Should only be a couple of days more…”

Galo was a bit more apprehensive, but at last he managed to crouch down in front of the boy, whose head hung low. Even in his drunken state he was alarmed by the lack of response from the boy, who, while the two businessmen had been there, hadn’t reacted at all. He waved a hand in front of the boy’s face, but Kray caught him doing it and laughed at it.

“It’s no use. He won’t react to you,” Kray also crouched down in front of the boy and tilted his chin upwards, so that Galo could see the light of his eyes Or, the lack thereof. “He won’t react to anything.”

The boy’s pink eyes were dull, glazed over like he didn’t see them. It was clear that he was drugged, especially by the way his head went limp after Kray let go of his chin. 

Only now did the sense of danger get through to Galo. A moment of clarity went through him, only it was way too late. “He’s… A breeder?”

Kray raised an eyebrow, arm behind his back. “Oh, you’ve heard about them?”

Galo gulped. “Yes, sir. I have.”

“They are very rare… They said only one out of tens of thousands of men are born being able to be bred…” Kray’s usually kind look went dark. “And I got one.”

Galo felt a shiver run down his spine. He had to go.  _ Now _ . “That’s nice… Can I go now?”

“Why do you already want to leave? Don’t you want to have fun?” Kray said, disappointment clear in his voice.

“I-I do, but… I’m kinda tired.” Galo feigned a yawn, and all the time he did his best to avoid direct eye contact with the man.

“I see… You will have fun with him some other time. I know you will.”

Galo got to his feet and went down the hall to the bedroom. After a couple of minutes he stood at the headquarters’ reception, trembling like crazy.

“Are you okay?” Kray’s personal secretary, Biar, asked him as she saw him at the reception.

“Y-Yeah, wine does this to me…” Galo lied, a grin on his face. But even as she called the taxi to take him to his hotel, he heard Kray’s words in his mind.  _ You will have fun with him some other time. I know you will. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to get this out with the other chapter ^^

Man, his head was killing him. Galo was feeling like shit after all that booze from yesterday, but it wasn’t anything a couple of painkillers couldn’t fix. Besides, he had to continue his meetings with Kray.

Just thinking about him made Galo tremble slightly. He didn’t remember a lot from yesterday, but he did remember one thing: The boy.

Galo wanted to see him again. Not because of the what Kray had said, but because… Why did he want to see him, anyway?

Getting ready for the day with a slightly dulled headache, Galo wanted to look presentable for the meeting. He did his best even though he looked tired as all hell.

When he arrived at the place of the meeting, Kray stood there, ready to greet him. He looked kind and patient, but Galo had a feeling there was something lurking underneath.

“Ah, there you are, Mr Thymos. Just the man I needed to see,” Kray led him to the elevator that would take them to the meeting room, but he didn’t press the button when inside it.

“Sir?” Galo was careful not to sound suspicious, but he had a feeling that something was very wrong.

“Mr Thymos… What do you remember from last night?”

Ah, there it was. Fuck.

“We had dinner, I drank a lot and…”

“And?” Kray inquired when Galo didn’t continue.

“There was a boy. He was pregnant.”

Kray finally turned to look at Galo, a blank expression on his face. “You do understand that this a secret kept between you and me, right? I can’t have anyone know about him other than the designated few. If anyone else finds out… Do you understand me?”

Galo immediately avoided Kray’s eyes and looked down in front of him. “Yes, sir.”

A heavy hand landed on Galo’s shoulder. He looked up in surprise, but he soon wished he hadn’t.

“You should consider yourself lucky. It’s not often a commoner like you get a glimpse of a breeder.” Kray’s eyes looked down on Galo, both figuratively and literally.

When Galo didn’t answer at first, Kray squeezed his shoulder enough to make it slightly painful. That was all the encouragement Galo needed to answer. “You’re right, sir.”

Kray finally removed his hand and turn to push the button to go to the floor where the meeting was held. He was quiet for a moment before he finally spoke: “I’ll contact you when it’s time. Let you see the show first hand.”

Galo wondered what kind of ‘show’ he would see, but didn’t dare to speak up. Kray’s warning was enough to make him scared, but he still felt bad for the pregnant boy with no name.

-

Late that night Galo’s phone rang. He managed to pick up on the last ring, confused and awfully tired he mumbled his name to whoever had called him.

“Show’s started. Get over here as soon as possible.” It was Kray’s voice.

“Kray? It’s so late… Can’t we see the show another time?” Galo yawned.

“This show is not so easily scheduled… I expect you to come over immediately if you don’t want to miss it.” And with that, Kray hung up.

Interest piqued, Galo got up and got ready to get dressed when he remembered that he didn’t know where the show was. He texted Kray quickly, and he soon received a message telling him it was at HQ, the place where the meetings were held and Kray’s apartment.

Some time after Galo arrived at the large building, where Kray’s secretary seemed to be looking for him.

“Ah, right on time. Mr Thymos, please follow me.” She said, professional and stiff as ever.

Galo followed her through the building, but when he was about to turn for the meeting room, Biar steered him towards the penthouse. Thinking he would go to the storage again, Biar once again had to turn him the right way to another room he had never seen before.

Not a sound could be heard until the doors opened. Then Galo heard groans of pain, and he immediately grew frightened. What was in here? Was it some kind of torture show? Just what kind of mess did he get himself into?

“Mr Kray, I brought Mr Thymos as requested.” Biar said with a single nod.

“Thank you Biar, you can go now.” Came Kray’s voice, even and light as usual. But there was an edge to it, like he was excited. And as soon as Galo stepped further into the room, he saw why.

The blond boy from the evening before was lying on an examination table, chest heaving, and moaning against the pain. He was a lot more alert now, reacting to the pain that must have been excruciating. The light (Or the booze for that sake) must have been messing with his head the night before, because Galo could now see that the boy was very thin, as if he hadn’t been fed properly. Angry stretch marks criss-crossed all over the underside of his belly, this was clearly not his first time. But the most stunning thing was the boy’s eyes. They were so different, so full of life. Last time he had met the boy, his eyes were so empty, vacant, void of anything. Now he was fighting, a fight he had to use his entire body to fight. 

Galo’s mouth agape, he moved closer to the boy, completely enthralled with the difference he was seeing, but a strong hand came to stop him, holding him back by the shoulder. As Galo turned to see Kray holding him back, he froze, not liking the reprimanding look the larger man was giving him. 

“Don’t touch him. He’s mine.”

Galo gulped nervously, but he took the seat Kray showed him, sitting tensely on the chair’s edge. 

It seemed like it was only now the boy noticed Galo, and they had a moment where their eyes locked, confused, but clearly drawn to each other. Galo couldn’t keep his eyes off of the boy, but the boy quickly averted his eyes, panting as he tried to regain his breath.

There was another person in the room, a person Galo quickly figured out was taking on the role as a midwife. The midwife didn’t look at either Galo or Kray, just did her job; taking the boy’s vitals and keeping him hydrated, but otherwise she didn’t do anything to calm him or comfort him. She was even wearing a surgical mask to cover her mouth, but Galo didn’t know if it was because of her wanting to avoid the boy being infected or if she just wanted to cover her mouth. Nevertheless, her eyes were cold and calculating, she didn’t need to show her mouth to show her feelings.

Another pained groan got Galo’s attention, and he watched as the boy covered his eyes with his arm, it almost seemed like he was trying to hide from the pain. The groan got high pitched as the pain peaked, and his cries were mingled with hoarse pleas of “Please stop it!” and “No more!”. But the pain didn’t stop, of course, because the boy was far from giving birth.

How far was he even from giving birth? “When is it over?” Galo asked, feeling worse with every minute that passed. He could throw up from the bad atmosphere in the room, the pain and the fear was too much for him to process unless he wanted to be sick.

“Why? Is it too much for you?” Kray’s voice was taunting, but he kept his face carefully blank.

“Ah, n-no! I just, I was thinking that we should get some sleep, you know, get ready for the meeting in the morning.” Galo chuckled nervously.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll let the staff know we will be coming in later. Just sit back and enjoy the show…”

Galo gulped, fear gripping him in the same way it had grabbed him when Kray had been a little too close to him, but he nodded and sat back in the chair, looking a the labouring boy who just seemed to get worse.

Then a thought hit him. “What’s his name? I don’t think you’ve told me.” Galo asked, looking to Kray with a curious look in his eyes.

“He doesn’t have one. He doesn’t need one to be a good breeder.” 

That shut Galo up. Kray was a frightening man, that was for sure. Galo didn’t want to get on the bad side of him, but… He really wanted to talk to this nameless boy. Some part of him was drawn to him, and it wasn’t just his eyes to the boy’s giant belly.

There was something about him… And Galo just couldn’t bear seeing him in pain. Yet he had no choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments are much appreciated :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this is a success! Thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words, they're truly what keeps me going! ^-^
> 
> Warning for this chapter: Self-harm and attempted infanticide
> 
> Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^

Time passed on, Kray and Galo had been watching the boy labour for what felt like hours. The sun was coming up, only giving Galo proof that it had really been hours since he arrived. He was beginning to tire, but that had to be nothing compared to the boy’s exhaustion. 

The boy’s groans only got louder and more primal, telling a story of ever increasing pain and suffering. And suddenly something broke inside the boy, a liquid coming out of his entrance. Galo wanted to ask what it was, but his unspoken question was answered as Kray said: “His waters finally broke. Now’s the best part.”

This was the go the boy needed to push. And push he did. His face was completely red from the strain of pushing, sweat was pouring from every pore of his body, and his entrance was bulging slightly.

Galo turned away, feeling lightheaded from the view, but Kray forced his head back to the labouring boy, not taking no for an answer.

“You should consider yourself privileged, being able to see this sight even once in your life. Don’t turn away again.”

And so Galo watched, watched it all even if he felt like puking. He watched as the baby inside the boy exited him, stretching the boy wide as he screamed out his lungs. But soon he wasn’t the only one screaming. A healthy baby joined him, letting everyone know about it’s arrival. 

The boy lay on his side, panting, eyes closed. He didn’t even look at the baby he had just given birth to, like he couldn’t care less. There was relief in his entire body, but after a couple of minutes he tensed up again, moaning lowly with his eyes still closed.

“Another baby?” Galo gasped, but Kray shook his head, smiling slightly at the other man’s ignorance.

“No, it’s the placenta,” When Galo looked confused at Kray, the larger man simply continued. “It’s what feeds the baby. When the baby exits the parent, the placenta follows after some time.”

“I thought the parent fed the baby.” Galo wondered out loud, but that made Kray chuckle.

“The parent does feed the baby, but they also created a part where the food goes through. It’s a bit complicated, but I trust you to understand.”

Galo nodded, not quite understanding, but he didn’t dare to question Kray anymore.

Everything quieted down, even the baby who turned out to be a girl. When the boy was presented with his baby, he simply turned away from the child. Did he not want to see his own child? 

“Don’t worry about that, he’s always like this.” Came Kray’s voice from the side. He got up and went to the midwife, who was holding the baby.

Galo tilted his head in confusion, but got up as well, following Kray to the midwife. “He’s unhappy about his child?”

“ _ My _ child. He usually doesn’t want to see them… But that makes the next part easier.”

“ _ Your _ child? But… Are you the father?” Galo paused for a moment, then the last couple of Kray’s word sank in. “The next part? What’s that?”

“Of course I’m the father. He’s my breeder, I get to do what I want with him. And yes, the next part…” Kray silently touched the baby girl’s cheek, then grabbed around her neck with his one hand. And immediately Galo’s instincts kicked in. 

Galo was quick to push Kray’s hand away, then put himself in between the midwife holding the baby and Kray, who seemed to grow more angry with every second that passed.

“What do you think you’re doing, Mr Thymos?” Kray said icily, hand curled into fist.

“You can’t, y-you can’t kill a newborn baby!” Galo’s voice was shaky, but he stood as bolted to the ground, firm in his belief.

“Why not? It’s my child. I decide what happens to it.” The larger man was calm as usual, but his fist was trembling, and it wasn’t from fear, far from it.

“She’s not an ‘it’! She’s your daughter!” Galo yelled, more determined than ever to save this child’s life.

“It’s a burden. I can’t have bastards running around and ruining my life.”

“Then, I’ll take her!”

“What?”

Galo suddenly realised what he had said. The words had sort of come out of his mouth on their own, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t stand by them. “You heard me. I’ll take her off your hands.”

Kray seemed to consider his offer, but then shook his head. “As I said, I can’t have a bastard running around and ruining my life. Knowing people, it will probably ask about its real parents’ identities, and then it’ll come running to my desk and ask for money the rest of my life.”

“What if we sent her to an orphanage? And delete her birth records?”

“There are no birth records. This midwife is privately owned by me, and she’ll talk to nobody about this.”

“But the orphanage?” Galo tried to reason.

“I can’t be seen at an orphanage with a child who looks like me.” Kray’s voice cut through, steely and determined.

“Then I’ll do it. I’ll take care of it all, just don’t… Don’t kill her, please.” Galo begged, ready to get on his knees and beg even more.

But finally Kray seemed to seriously consider Galo’s words. “... Fine. But I have no ties to it, are we clear?”

“Crystal clear.”

All the while the two men talked, the blond boy had listened. He stayed quiet, but his mind was racing, trying to figure out what he could do to save himself. He knew this wasn’t over, oh no, this whole experience, it would happen all over again for the rest of his life. 

He had to do something to get out of this misery, this torture. And so, while the others were occupied with talking, the boy dragged his sore body off the examination table and grabbed the first sharp object he could find; a scalpel. He took it and immediately slashed his own arm, but the pain was too great and he let out a cry, which was heard by the other people in the room.

“Oh no you don’t!” Kray was by his side in an instant and snatched the scalpel from his hand, threw it away, then grabbed the boy’s non-bleeding arm and dragged him over to the midwife, who didn’t look shocked at all, just like Kray.

The only one who reacted to the whole ordeal was Galo, who was shocked to his core. Did he… Did the boy just try to kill himself?

Kray held the boy still with his one arm while the midwife placed the baby girl on a nearby surface, getting ready to stop the bleeding.

The boy fought a little, but in the end he let himself be patched up. His head hung low, eyes staring blankly ahead, even as the midwife pulled the bandages a little tighter around his wound than necessary.

“What’s… What’s gonna happen to him?” Galo breathed, feeling a little shaky.

“He’ll go back to the room and be bred again. You usually have to wait a week after giving birth to have intercourse again, but an empty breeder is a worthless breeder. I’ll have to have him bred as soon as possible.” Kray said, words mighty and final. There was nothing to say to his decision, he had made it clear that that was the end.

The boy looked up for a moment, eyes panicking. It was clear that he might have thought he could escape, and Galo saw that look. And when the boy hung his head again, he would sob silently, shoulders trembling a little, but that was all the emotion he was giving away, as the long hair obscured his face.

Galo was left speechless. He had to save this boy as well. It was clear that the boy didn’t like this life, didn’t like anything to do with it, but Galo couldn’t tell that to Kray, as he was sure the much larger and more powerful man would do things to him that was worse than being bred.

The child had been wrapped up in a blanket so that she would quiet down, so everything was silent. Galo felt like he could hear his heart beat in his ears, it was that quiet, or maybe his heart just beat very loudly. Either way, he was going to leave this place with the baby girl, and he wouldn’t come back before he had found a way to save the pale boy with the eyes of fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! Kudos and comments are much appreciated ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thank you so much for all the kind words! I know this might not be the most popular trope, so I'm very happy that you guys like it ^^
> 
> And thank you to my beta Bibi, who read everything I write, corrects me, and spars with me whenever I have a stupid idea I want to put into the story. I couldn't have done any of this without you, thank you so very much <3
> 
> Without further ado, here's the new chapter, I hope you like it ^^

It took a week before Galo sat foot at “Foresight and Co.” again. He had to leave after the birth, feeling a bit traumatized from the experience, but he swore to return for the nameless boy. 

His business trip had come to an end, the baby girl had been dropped off at orphanage with Galo promising he’d come back for her one day, and he’d gone back Burning Rescue to tell Ignis that he’d like to avoid ever going back to “Foresight and Co.”. Ignis had tilted his head curiously, but eventually he accepted this fact and put down his co-worker, Remi Puguna, as the person to contact Kray Foresight when doing business.

This time Galo was not in a business suit like he usually was, no, he was clad in normal clothing, trying to blend in with the crowd. He knew exactly where to go, and he had very little time to reach his destination. 

The little excursion went well until he got to the bedroom. He should praise whatever gods who were listening, because he sure needed their help now that he couldn’t remember which book was the trigger mechanism. In his urgent search for the right book, Galo took out every book he could find and threw them on the floor, and when that didn’t work, he thought about it a bit more strategically: Where did Kray stand when he took out the book? Which one would be the most convenient for him to use? And as on cue, Galo reached out for a particular book he had missed before. The door opened, and Galo went inside.

Inside he found the boy sitting against the wall again, his stomach still a little bloated, but nowhere near as bloated as it had been before the birth. Galo crouched down in front of him, smiling sadly as he saw the empty eyes look back at him once more. “Hey, I’m here again… I’ll get ya out, okay? Don’t worry about anything.”

Working quickly, Galo removed the collar around the boy’s neck, and when he had taken it off, he realised that there was a syringe in it. The boy had been drugged the whole time the collar had been on… Feeling frustrated and angry, Galo wanted to smash the vial with the remained liquid, but something told him he could find use of it later. Putting the vial in his pocket, he began taking the boy in his arms, but then he realised that the boy was probably cold in his briefs. And it would probably look more normal if he went with a somewhat clothed boy than an almost naked boy. Putting his hoodie on the boy and taking the hood up, Galo hoisted the limp boy up on his back, leaning forward so that he wouldn’t fall backwards and hit the ground.

While it had been easy enough to sneak in, it was a lot harder to sneak out again. A lot of people saw him with the boy on his back, but he just joked about teenagers and ‘being too drunk to walk’. It got him a lot of weird looks, but he managed to get to the reception before somebody tried to stop him. It triggered his fight or flight response, and while he could fight these guards all day every day, he still had to think about the boy on his back. _Fuck… I gotta run for it_.

And so Galo ran as fast as he could with the boy on his back. He managed to run past the guards and got to his rented car, where he laid the boy down on the back seat, and then hurried to the front seat to start the car and drive away.

It didn’t take more than a couple of seconds to start the car, but for Galo it felt like it took several, long minutes that would decide his fate if he was too slow.

In the end the car drove off, and Galo was relieved to see that no one was following him. However strange that was, he didn’t give it much thought. He was just happy that the boy was safe and that they were on their way home.

-

“Ugghh…”

Galo was surprised to hear a groan sounding behind him in the car, but then he remembered who it came from. He made sure there weren’t any cars coming towards him, then turned over slightly in his seat to look at the blond boy, who seemed to be more alert than he had been 6 hours ago, when Galo busted him out of “Foresight and Co.”. “Hey, you awake?” He asked kindly, then turned back in his seat.

“... Yeah.” The boy’s voice was apprehensive, and quiet, like he didn’t trust it to speak properly. Must be because of misuse. He sat up with sluggish movements, putting his seatbelt on. When Galo caught his eyes in the rearview mirror, the boy was quick to look out the window again, even though it was pretty dark. 

It was quiet for a bit, it seemed the boy didn’t really want to talk.

That didn’t stop Galo one bit.

“My name’s Galo! Do you know yours?”

“Lio. Lio Fotia.” The boy replied, still looking out the window.

This surprised Galo. The boy had a name? “I thought breeders weren’t supposed to keep their names when they were made into breeders.”

Lio scoffed slightly, a bitter sound escaping his throat. “Yeah, but did you ever ask the ‘breeders’ about that?”

Confusion hit Galo like a brick to the face. “What do you mean, ‘ask the breeders’? You’re the first breeder I’ve ever seen.”

“Then ask me. Ask me why I’m keeping my name.”

“Uh, okay, why are you kee-”

“Because that’s the only thing they couldn’t take away from me!” Lio cut him off, a fierce look in his eyes. He was panting slightly by the end, probably having spoken more in the past few minutes than he had spoken in years.

Galo was surprised by Lio’s sudden outburst, but when he thought about it, he realised that it was justified. “I’m… I’m sorry.”

Lio just huffed, looking out the window again with a sour look on his face. He was obviously offended, but he didn’t say anything. That was better than him screaming at Galo… At least Galo liked to think so.

The drive went on in silence, only being interrupted by the sound of the car beeping.

“Oh shit, we need to stop for gas... “

Galo drove to the nearest gas station, but before he got out of the car, he turned to look at Lio, who looked very guarded. “You want anything from the store?”

Lio’s shock was easy to see on his face. He hadn’t expected Galo to buy him anything, unless… “Are you trying to buy me?”

Now it was Galo’s turn to look shocked. “What? No, I’m being friendly. I just want you to be comfortable, and maybe not look so skinny. What did Kray even feed you?”

Lio’s facial expression darkened, and it seemed like he could snap at any given moment. But he simply said: “Sludge. He feed me some kind of goo, something that would slide down without me having to swallow it.”

“You mean-”

“I mean that I was awake the whole time. You might have thought I was too far gone when I was drugged, but no, I saw everything. The drug made me numb to the world, but I was still awake.” Lio’s face darkened even more, anger radiating off him. It was like he could turn into a dragon and go on a rampage in the city if he wanted to. 

“I’ll… I’ll get you something, just wait here.” And with that, Galo left Lio alone in the car, hoping he wouldn’t run off or do anything equally stupid. 

-

When Galo came back, he had bought two bottles of water, some sweets, and a sandwich. Lio was thankfully still sitting in the car, but he had moved away from the light of the gas station, preferring the darkness of the night instead of the artificial light. 

“Look what I got!” Galo exclaimed joyfully as he got into the car. He presented the items for Lio, who didn’t even glance at the sweets, but he seemed interested in the sandwich, so Galo gave it to him without question.

There were still a couple of hours before they got home, and Galo dreaded the drive, but since Lio’s outburst, he seemed to be a lot less hot headed than before, nibbling quietly on his sandwich and taking a sip of his water every now and then. He refused to look at the rearview mirror, so Galo let him be and turned on the radio, listening to music to drown out the silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far, comments and kudos are much appreciated ^^
> 
> For some reason I had a lot of trouble copying this chapter from my google docs, so I might not be using that in the future, which means slower updates ^^'


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is chapter 5! I never thought I'd get this far with a multi-chaptered fanfic. I usually lose interest before I get to this point, but I guess I just can't let go of Promare... Or Promare won't let go of me xD
> 
> Thank you for all of your support and nice comments, they are truly what keep me going. I'm like a machine that runs on comments and kudos, choo choo!
> 
> Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this chapter ^-^

3 hours later they arrived at what Lio would call a small apartment. It was on the third floor, and the elevator in the building wasn’t working as usual, so Galo had to help Lio up the stairs.

Lio tried to ascend the stairs on his own at first, but after only the first flight of stairs, he was breathing heavily, and his whole body was sore. Still he continued with Galo’s help, step by step, even if he didn’t want the help at first.

When they finally got inside, Galo helped Lio over to a chair, where Lio sat down and held his stomach. It was obvious that he was in pain, furrowed brow and gritted teeth, but he didn’t say a word.

Galo was concerned about him, but when he reached out to touch him again, Lio pulled away, not wanting Galo’s touch. “Don’t touch me!” He hissed, even though Galo had helped him minutes before. 

Holding up his hands in defeat, Galo backed away. “Okay, okay… I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine!”

“You don’t look fine… Are you in pain?” Galo asked, carefully getting closer to the blond boy.

“I just need some time t-to rest…” Lio eventually said, leaning back in the chair and closing his eyes. He knew it was dangerous to fall asleep here, in an unknown environment, but he was just so damn tired, and a little nap couldn’t hurt… Could it?

Galo had gone into the little kitchen to prepare something to eat for them, but when he came back to ask Lio if he wanted his food to be spicy, he found the poor boy fast asleep, head tilted at an awkward angle, but otherwise seemingly content. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight, Lio looked so… Childlike, so… Innocent. Only him and God know what he had gone through.

Going against Lio’s wish of not being touched, Galo carefully picked him up and carried him to his bedroom, where he laid Lio down on the bed, covering him with the duvet, not bothering to take off his clothes. That would be a violation, especially since he couldn’t consent. 

He didn’t close the door completely when he left, didn’t want Lio to feel alone when he woke up again, and he couldn’t lie in the same bed as Lio. If Lio woke up and saw Galo next to him, he could misunderstand and think that Galo would just use him as his own personal breeder, and that wasn’t Galo’s intention in the slightest. All Galo wanted for Lio was a happy life, free from the things that scared him. And judging by how he didn’t want to be touched, Galo had to respect that wish. Carrying him to the bed didn’t count, because right now Lio was out cold. And Galo was pretty sure he would prefer waking up in a warm bed rather than waking up in a chair with a sore back.

Smiling softly to himself, Galo began making the sofa into a bed, and while it was far too short for him, he would sleep well there tonight.

He ended up scrapping the meal, not feeling particular hungry, and then went to bed as well, feeling just as tired as Lio from the risky rescue.

-

The next morning Galo woke up with a sore back. His couch definitely wasn’t the best place to sleep, but he wouldn’t have it any other way, didn’t want to make Lio any more uncomfortable than he already was.

Speaking of Lio… Was he awake? Galo went quietly to the bedroom door, opening it slowly. What he saw there was enough to take his breath away.

Lio was bathed in sun rays from the morning sun, blond hair strewn across his head like a halo, looking completely innocent as he slept. It was like all hardship had melted from his face, all traces of stress and pain were gone. He looked _beautiful_.

It was at that moment Lio woke up. His eyes fluttered open, and when he looked around, he looked more than a little confused. He clearly didn’t remember getting into bed, didn’t really remember where he was, but when he saw Galo his features hardened and he sat up while maintaining eye contact with Galo, like he was a cornered animal.

Galo didn’t understand this, why was he so defensive? Had he not saved Lio from a terrible fate? Had he not been kind to him and taken him in?

“Good morning, Lio. How’d you sleep?” Galo tried, a small smile on his face.

Lio was silent, guarded. It was like he was waiting for something…

“Uhh… Are you hungry?” Galo tried again, but this time his smile was a little forced.

“Just fucking get it over with.”

“Huh?” Galo looked surprised at Lio, who in turn glared angrily at the larger man.

“I want you to get it over with.”

“What do you mean, ‘get it over with’?”

“You want to fuck me, right? Isn’t that why you took me? To breed me?” Lio spat the words out like they were acid on his tongue.

Galo couldn’t believe his own ears. “No! I freed you from a hellish life!”

“And now you want a reward,” Lio scoffed. “I’ve seen it all before.”

Galo stepped closer, intending to seem kind, but he saw how Lio flinched before him, and he realised he had to find another way to reach the skeptic boy.

Drawing back, Galo went out of the room, leaving Lio alone. He began preparing breakfast, as he was pretty sure Lio was starving. Galo was, so he couldn’t even imagine how hungry Lio would be.

Soon the smell of scrambled eggs and bacon wafted through the air. And as anticipated, a hesitant Lio soon emerged from the bedroom, hiding his body behind the wall as only his head stuck out.

It looked pretty cute the way he looked like he was pouting, even if he had nothing to be sulky about.

“Hey, you want breakfast?” Galo smiled, this time not forced, nor overly chipper.

“... Yes.” Lio slowly got out of the bedroom, ready to bolt out the door at any given moment. It looked like the sleep had helped a lot on his condition, giving him the energy to run if he wanted to.

This didn’t bother Galo. He knew that Lio would be in a situation where he couldn’t resist food, so he arranged the food on two plates and put it on the small table, letting Lio join him whenever he felt like it.

Of course it didn’t take a long time, and Lio soon sat at the table, eyeing Galo every 5 seconds to make sure the other man didn’t force his way on him. 

The silence they shared was awkward, but not angry or hateful like it had been before. It was like they were trying to figure each other out, but only by what the other did, not by what they said.

Galo ate quickly, he was used to being alone so he ate without concern for Lio, who only nibbled small bites of the food, making him eat so much slower than Galo.

“... You don’t like eggs and bacon?” Galo asked after he had finished, to which Lio shook his head.

“It’s… Different from what I used to eat. More firm.”

“Oh, right. You used to eat some kind of goo, right?” Galo’s question was innocent, but it made Lio’s expression sour at the thought.

“Yes. I ate goo. Now shut up and let me enjoy real food.” Lio said icily, and that was the end of that conversation.

Or so Lio thought.

“We gotta talk about what’s going to happen to you.”

“I stay as your breeding bitch, you have a happy life. Isn’t that what you want?” Lio fought. He might be a breeder, but he still fought. And he would fight for the rest of his life.

But he didn’t have to. Galo would make him understand that. “It’s not what I want. I don’t want to breed you. I want you to do what _you_ want to do.”

That stumped Lio. What he wanted to do…? What _did_ he want to do? “I…I want to take a shower. I want to cut my hair. I want my own place. I want a job, a normal life. I want… to be happy.” Lio felt himself tremble at the end, emotions taking over his usually rational mind. Did he really have the option of having all those things? It seemed like he would die as a breeder just yesterday, and now… Now he could be happy again. It seemed like it was impossible.

A large hand landed on his knee. Lio woke up from his daze to see a concerned looking Galo. The first thing he realised was that Galo’s hand was so warm on his bare knee, so… Comforting. He almost wanted to weep at the comfort, but he pulled himself together and just looked down, refusing to shed those tears.

They sat like that for a while, Lio with his head hanging low, Galo with his warm hand on Lio’s knee. Neither of them knew how to break the silence that was interrupted by Lio’s quiet sniffles, but in the end Lio cleared his throat and spoke. “Can I take that shower now?” 

Galo removed his hand immediately and smiled softly. “Yeah, let me show you how it works.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far, I hope you enjoyed it ^^
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated ^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whaaat, a new chapter? It's more likely than you think!
> 
> No but seriously, I'm so sorry for the long wait... But there's something nice waiting for you in this chapter, a little surprise made by KagamineKupcake from Twitter. She's super nice and talented, so go follow her! ^^
> 
> And with that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter (And the surprise) ^^

After Galo had showed him how the shower worked, he had left Lio alone. The first thing Lio did after Galo had exited was lock the door. Then, and only then, did he feel safe. He could breathe easier, could stop the nervous glances he was throwing towards Galo all the time.

Lio took off the hoodie that smelled strongly of Galo, and then stood bare in front of the mirror sans his underwear. The sight of his own body scared him, it was like he was watching a stranger mirror his cautious movements. Lio stepped closer to the mirror and inspected the wounds, bruises, and scars his body had gotten over the past couple of years.

Most of his scars were on his arms. He shuddered when he traced one of them. The newest one was still healing, he still had bandages around it for some reason, even though it had been a little over a week since he had his little stunt. The latest wound he had made was not that deep, but he still kept the bandages on as if he wanted to make sure he couldn’t see it. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t see the other scars. Some were long, some were short, but every line reminded him of the times he had tried to… End his suffering, in one way or another.

When Lio was done tracing the scars, he looked at his eyes. They looked sunken, hollow. Everything about him was hollow right now, he was _that_ skinny.

And his hair was so long… It hadn’t been cut since he was taken, or at least Lio didn’t think so. He didn’t remember everything that had happened to him, it was blurry to say the least. The days he had spent at Kray Foresight’s storage had all looked the same, sleeping whenever Kray wasn’t there, being fucked when he was there, sometimes eating the sludge that slid down his throat, and… The births. That had been his life.

_It’s over now._ _I’m free of that bastard’s claws._

Lio winced as he felt a dull pain in his stomach. He knew this pain, it always came after he had given birth and came and went as it pleased. When Lio took of his briefs there was blood in the bottom. This was normal too, but it should stop soon.

Before stepping into the shower stall, Lio took off his bandages. He didn’t look at the wound, just began scrubbing off all the grime and dirt of the many years of captivity. It took a while, and his skin was red afterwards, but he felt better than he had done in years. He left the stitched up area alone.

Lio took the towel he had been given and dried off, careful of the more sensitive areas of his body.

After he was done, he asked Galo for a pair of scissors. It was clear that the boy wanted to cut his hair. Galo gave them to him, along with a pair of boxers, a pair of sweatpants that were much too long for the shorter boy, and one of his shirts. Lio didn’t complain at all, he just seemed happy that he had something to wear that would hide his scars. 

Once Lio was wearing all of the clothes, he went to stand in front of the mirror again, scissors in hand. His hair was still wet, so it was easier to cut. Hesitating no further, Lio took his long hair in one hand, and with a swift move, cut the blonde strands. The wet hair fell to the ground, and Lio felt much better, like a burden was removed from his shoulders.

When he looked in the mirror, he still saw the malnourished, hollow boy he had been before he had stepped into the shower, but there was something different about him. He stood up straighter, his eyes were burning with a desire to live, unlike just yesterday when they had been devoid of life.

A knock sounded on the door. “You okay in there?” Came Galo’s voice through the door, sounding concerned. And that’s when Lio realised he had no energy left to do anything, much less dry his hair.

Unlocking the door, Lio got out of the bathroom, avoiding Galo’s eyes when the larger man said: “Your hair’s still wet.”

“I know.”

“... Want me to dry it for you?” Galo asked cautiously, not wanting to upset the smaller man.

But Lio didn’t seem offended in the least, oh no. He nodded slowly, feeling absolutely drained just from taking the shower and cutting his hair, but went back into the bathroom. He could sleep for hours, but that wouldn’t be comfortable with the wet hair, so he waited for Galo to set up the hair dryer.

Galo began drying Lio’s now much shorter hair, but something about Lio’s appearance puzzled him. When he looked at the back of the boy’s neck, there was a mark that looked a lot like a bruise.

The bruise was lined with black lines, making a triangle with two curved lines from the lower corners connecting the upper corner. It looked a bit faded, like it had been there forever. 

“What’s this?” Galo asked, pointing at the mark.

Lio couldn’t see it, but he knew exactly what is was. His eyes darkened, he tensed up, but it was all anger. “Breeder’s mark. All breeders get it.” He said through gritted teeth.

“Breeder’s mark…” Galo mumbled, and, against his better judgement, traced a finger along the yellowed mark, which had a hint of green and blue as well.

Lio flinched and immediately drew away, making Galo feel sheepish as he also drew away.

Galo could only stand there with the hair dryer in hand and sigh, feeling immensely stupid as he once again had touched Lio without his permission.

Why did he do it? It was clear that Lio didn’t like being touched, but Galo had done it anyway. And now Lio’s eyes were afraid like a cornered animal, making him seem more wild and feral than before.

“Lio, I’m sorry. Please, come back here and let me finish drying the rest of your hair..?”

“N-No. I don’t want you to touch me.” Came Lio’s slightly shaky voice, frightened by everything Galo could do. There were many possibilities, and they scared him, running around in his head like crazy.

Galo sighed, he didn’t know how to make up for his mistake, and he didn’t know how to make Lio calm down again. He wasn’t a psychiatrist, only a simple businessman, how in the world would he be able to calm down this scared boy?

Ah. He could call Aina.

Putting the hair dryer on the table and taking his phone out of his pocket, he quickly dialed Aina’s number, and she picked up on the second ring.

“Galo? Isn’t it your day off?” She said, voice slightly muffled through the phone.

“Aina, I need a favour.” Galo said as he turned his back on Lio.

“What kind of favour?” Aina asked. The words sounded like she was apprehensive, but Galo knew her better than that. She would drop everything to come to help him, and he was thankful for it.

“Uhhh, it’s complicated… Bring lots of TLC products.”

“The usual?”

“The usual.” Galo confirmed.

“Got it. I’ll be there in 20 minutes.” And then Aina hung up.

Lio, who had been watching Galo with waning fear, was rather skeptic about this Aina person. The shock of it all had slowly disappeared, but it wasn’t completely gone.

Galo gave Lio a small smile, then slowly took the hairdryer and held it out to Lio. “You should probably finish drying your hair…”

Lio apprehensively took it, but he looked at Galo all the time, ready to bolt for the door if necessary. But since it wasn’t necessary, Lio continued drying his partly wet hair, and Galo let him, instead opting to sit a few meters away and looking at his phone.

It was strange that no one had come for them yet. A breeder was worth a lot of money, so the owner of a breeder would most likely have done something to keep them safe. Perhaps Kray’s way of keeping Lio safe was by locking him in a room and drugging him so he couldn’t escape. But shouldn’t there be… More? Maybe Galo was just paranoid… But he’d do anything to ensure Lio’s safety. The poor boy had suffered enough already.

-

The sound of the doorbell could be heard no longer than 21 minutes later, Galo was quick to let Aina in, trying to explain the situation before she actually saw Lio, but that wasn’t necessary, as Lio had locked himself inside the bathroom again the moment he heard a voice he didn’t recognize.

“So, what’s the sitch?” Aina asked as she took her jacket off and put it on the back of a chair, then took the bag she had previously put at the door.

“It’s complicated, but… I’ve gotten a new friend,” Galo tried, knowing that wasn’t the whole story. But he had to tell Aina someday about it. “He’s… A breeder.”

The shocked look on Aina’s face was no surprise to Galo. People knew of the breeders’ existence, but only very few had actually seen them. Aina was no exception. “Galo, that’s crazy. Are you sure he’s a breeder?”

Galo nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! I saw his tattoo... And kinda touched it as well.”

“Kinda? Galo, did you touch it or not?”

Galo looked down in defeat. “I did… And now he’s being all weird.”

Aina sighed harshly and put the bag of goodies on the table. “He’s not being weird, he’s scared.”

“I know that! But I don’t know how to calm him down.”

“And now you want a stranger to calm him down?”

“I mean, I’m a stranger too… We only started talking yesterday.”

Aina made a frustrated sound and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Just, just let me get a moment with him.”

“Great, then I’ll return the rental car.”

“What?! You’re just going to leave us alone?”

Galo smiled sheepishly at his feet. “Yeah, I need to return it before noon… I’ll be back soon, okay?”

Aina threw up her hands in frustration. “Unbelievable!”

Galo, who usually always grinned and bore things, stood fidgeting a bit, but then Aina literally pushed him out the door, with a strict “You better be quick!”. That’s when he realised that he had gotten the green light from her.

Grinning brightly, Galo hurried down to the rented car and drove off, leaving Aina to (hopefully) make Lio feel better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was the chapter. Did you like it? Did you like the surprise? Go yell at me on Twitter if you want to, the name's Mpregplease
> 
> Also, don't forget to go follow the amazing KagamineKupcake! ^^
> 
> Thank you for reading this far, kudos and comments are much appreciated ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update, yay! ^^
> 
> Hope you'll enjoy it ^^

When Galo returned, he was surprised to see Lio and Aina sitting in the living room, chatting quietly. He tried to be quiet when he walked into the apartment, but the sound of the door opening could easily be heard, and so, when Galo entered the living room, an uneasy silence spread.

Galo tried to alleviate it anyway. “Hey… I see you’re getting along well.”

Lio looked at Galo for a moment with a carefully blank stare, but then looked over at Aina to show that he wanted her to talk.

Aina just smiled at Lio, then looked at Galo. “Yeah, Lio’s really nice company.”

At that, Lio blushed a bit, but stubbornly kept his gaze to the side, not wanting to make eye contact with Galo.

This confused Galo, but he held his head high and smiled his usually bright smile. “I know, right?! He’s really nice and…” He trailed off, not knowing what to say. And that’s when Galo realised: He didn’t know anything about Lio other than his past as a breeder.

Aina seemed to pick up on it and chuckled, a bit uncomfortable with the situation. But this didn’t last for long. “Let’s see what we’ve got in the bag, shall we?”

In the bag there were a lot of things, and as Aina placed them all on the table, Lio got to see what they were: Scented candles, small bags of hot chocolate powder, tiny marshmallows, soothing facemasks, and a DVD with a drawn cover.

While Aina placed the things on the table, Galo went in to gather the things he stored for their TLC evenings: Fluffy blankets, their soft pyjamas sets, and lots of comfortable pillows. He brought all of the things into the room, and placed them on the couch, where he started to arrange the pillows so that they could sit comfortably.

After he had done that, he took his pyjamas set and went to the bathroom to change. He could hear chattering from Aina ( _“These are the best marshmallows ever!_ ”), but Lio kept quiet. Or maybe Galo just couldn’t hear him. Either way, all he could hear was Aina speaking while she probably got the hot chocolate ready.

Galo got out of the room again with a really soft looking pyjamas on, and he beamed when he saw Aina looking at his mugs with disdain.

“Really, Galo? You still have these old mugs with matoi illustrations on them?”

Galo looked offended, but it didn’t last long as he couldn’t help but grin when he saw them. “Of course I have! They’re awesome and cool!”

Aina sighed, but then smiled even if she didn’t approve of his collection. “Well, guess it makes it easier for me to get you your future birthday gifts…”

Lio was studying the mugs, having no idea what a ‘matoi’ was, but he realised that he didn’t care. He just wanted to stay in the bedroom or the bathroom and isolate himself, but then Galo came over with a pyjamas set to him and ushered him to the bathroom.

“Go change,” He said with a big grin. “We’ll take care of the rest.”

And so Lio went to change for the second time that day, not really having the energy to do so, but did it anyway. It was only when he felt the soft pyjamas on his bruised and scarred skin, that he realised how good it was and how calming it felt.

When he came out again, there was the smell of hot chocolate, and the apartment’s natural light had been dimmed with the way the curtains were drawn. Lit candles were placed here and there, emitting a faint scent of lavender and roses.

Lio found comfort in especially the rose scent, but the other things also made him feel calmer, not that he wanted to tell Galo that.

“Great, you’re ready!” Galo grinned when he saw Lio in the pyjamas.

“Obviously.” Lio huffed and rolled his eyes, not feeling the need to explain himself further.

“Uh, I’ll be changing into my pyjamas, then I’ll come back. Is that alright with you, Lio?” Aina said, a bit uncertain about leaving Lio alone with Galo when the former didn’t seem to trust the latter completely yet.

It did make Lio stiffen up, but he nodded, giving Aina the unspoken permission she was asking for.

“I won’t be long!”

And with that, Aina left the two of them alone.

Lio suddenly felt the urge to go back to the bedroom, wanting to stay under the covers and not be alone with Galo, but the other man just beamed and shoved a cup of steaming hot chocolate into his hands.

“Here you go! Go ahead and grab a blanket, then snuggle up on the sofa! I’ll get the DVD.” Galo said enthusiastically, already getting the DVD and putting it on.

Lio felt like he had no choice but to do as Galo told him, so he took a blanket, placed the cup on the coffee table in front of him, then wrapped the blanket around him and sat down, marveling at the blanket’s fluffy material.

Galo put the dvd on, and, to Lio’s surprise, the movie turned out to be animated. But he didn’t have much time to watch it, as Aina came back and looked a little offended.

“You started it without me? How rude.” But then she smiled, obviously not serious about it.

“Come sit down, Ponyo’s starting soon.” Galo said with a grin, getting Aina’s hot chocolate.

Aina sat down next to Lio, who looked a lot calmer now that Galo wouldn’t be sitting next to him, and Galo sat on the near end of the sofa, while the movie began with some kind of opera sounding voice.

Lio scrunched up his nose while listening to it, it really wasn’t his cup of tea. No, he preferred normal rock or heavy rock, it didn’t really matter which it was as long as he could play it. God, it had been so long since he’d last played his trusty guitar in his childhood home. But the trusty guitar was long gone, as was his childhood home. The thought of his mother came to him, and he wondered if she was okay… Lio hadn’t seen her for years, or at least it felt like that.

To be fair, being locked up in a dark room, with no knowledge about what was going on in the outside world, it was easy to go bat-shit crazy, especially when it had been for so long. But in the end, he could have just been there for a couple of years…

“Lio, you okay?” Aina asked, looking at him with worried eyes.

Had he zoned out? It seemed like it when both Aina and Galo looked at him, equally worried.

Instead of vocally replying, Lio just nodded and settled back into the couch. He didn’t want to think too much, didn’t want to worry about things. Yet, he did worry.

How was he going to obtain all the things he told Galo about, when he was trapped in a blissful bubble? He had to get out of here, not just live life as Galo’s pet. That was a goal he would achieve. Well, someday he would. For now he felt so warm and cozy… And soon he was asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far! Comments and kudos are much appreciated ^^


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keeping a regular updating schedule is harder than I anticipated, but I'm determined to do it! ^^
> 
> With that said, it was a bit hard for me to write this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless ^^

“Shh, he’s sleeping…”

“Still?”

“Yeah… Must have been pretty tired.”

Lio stirred, rubbing his eyes sleepily. That’s when he realised that Aina and Galo were talking about him. “What is it?” He said, feeling like he could fall asleep again immediately, but he did his best to stay awake.

“The movie’s over.” Aina smiled, taking the blanket off her and putting it on the couch, then took the empty mugs over to the sink. Well, two of the were empty, the third one was mostly full. “Lio, you didn’t drink your hot chocolate... Was it that bad?”

Galo looked expectantly towards Lio, which made Lio feel uncomfortable. He just shrugged and looked away, not wanting to look at either at the people. “I don’t like sweet foods and drinks that much.”

“Duly noted.” Aina smiled, then poured the cold chocolate and marshmallow mix into the drain.

An uncomfortable silence spread inside the room, but just then Aina’s phone pinged, indicating that she had gotten a message. She immediately got the phone out of her pocket and read the message, smiling when she saw who it was from.

Lio recognized that smile, smiling a bit himself when he saw her looking at him. “Who’s the lucky man?”

“Wha-“ Aina began, looking a bit surprised, but then she smiled again. “Her name’s Thyma. She’s super cute, and she even plays in a band! Look!”

Aina gave her phone to Lio, who marveled at the light weight of it, but then he looked at the picture and saw a tanned woman with pretty green eyes. Lio nodded approvingly and was just about to give the phone back, when he spotted two men in the background. It looked like… But it couldn’t be…

“Aww, come on, Aina, no one wants to see you flex your girlfriend.” Galo complained, but Lio shushed him; a surprising move from a former subdued prisoner.

“These are… Meis… And Gueira… Right?”

Aina looked stunned, but then nodded, reaching out for her phone. “Yeah, they formed the band “The Two Blades” five years ago. Thyma has since joined them, but they didn’t want to change their band name.”

Lio looked down on the screen depicting the happy three people on a stage, tracing his hand over Meis’ and Gueira’s faces fondly. “Those idiots… But it’s so typical of them.”

“Wait, you know them?” Aina asked, suddenly curious.

“Yeah…” Lio said, now giving the phone back to Aina. “They are my childhood friends. _Were_ my childhood friends.” He corrected himself, looking a bit sad.

Another silence spread in the room, but this time it was tinged with sorrow. It didn’t last for long, however, when Galo grinned and spoke up.

“Then you gotta meet them again!”

“What?” Lio couldn’t believe his own ears. Meet his old friends once more? “They’ve probably forgotten about me. It’s been a long time since I last saw them, after all.”

“Who could possibly forget about you?” Galo said, a soft smile on his face, then realised what he had said and blushed madly. “Uh, I mean… What I want to say is-“

“What Galo is _trying_ to say is that they haven’t forgotten about you,” Aina interrupted, saving Galo’s ass. “They must miss their childhood friend a lot.”

Galo looked thankful to Aina, then turned his gaze towards Lio. “Yeah, that’s what I meant!”

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Lio seemed to mull it over. In the end he looked down and shrugged. “I guess… But how would we even meet?”

Aina smiled. “I can make a few calls and arrange a meeting, if you’d like.”

“I’d like that.” And, for once, Lio smiled back. A shy, hesitant smile appeared on his lips, showing his true feelings to Aina and Galo.

Galo swore his heart fluttered a bit at that smile. Only a little, but it would grow stronger in time, no doubt.

“Great, I’ll call you when I figure things out.”

Lio looked down on his hands with a slightly hesitant look on his face. “But I don’t have a phone…”

“Call me.” Galo said, giving Lio a grin and a thumbs up when the latter looked at him.

Lio just scoffed, finding it typical of Galo to be so energetic even though he barely knew the man. If Lio was really harsh, he would even call Galo a bit stupid, but he couldn’t do it while he was at Galo’s mercy.

“Then it’s settled,” Aina said, giving Lio a quick smile before she began gathering her things. “I’ll call Galo when they have time for a quick meeting, okay?”

“Sure!” Galo replied on behalf of Lio, who looked a bit uneasy to see that Aina was getting ready to go.

“Are you leaving?” _(me alone with this guy?)_ Lio didn’t dare to say the last couple of words out loud, but they still resounded in the room, making Aina look a bit ashamed. She felt guilty for leaving Lio alone with somebody he obviously didn’t trust, but she couldn’t really let Lio come along.

First of all, she had a tiny apartment, even smaller than Galo’s small apartment. Second of all, she shared it with her sister, making it impossible to bring Lio along.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, alright?” Aina said, trying to reassure Lio. It didn’t exactly work, but he didn’t look completely anxious either, so she hoped he would be okay.

Lio just nodded, already curling more up on the couch with the blanket wrapped tightly around himself again. It was a wonder he hadn’t suffocated yet, because that blanket sure was wrapped really tight around him. But Lio didn’t seem to mind. Maybe he liked the tight feeling around him, or maybe he did it to protect himself. Either way, he didn’t seem to get out of the blanket and up from the couch, not even when Aina had gotten back into her normal clothes and waved goodbye to Lio.

Galo followed Aina to the door, where she turned around as soon as he was about to close it.

She looked very stern when she said: “Galo, I want you to be careful with Lio. I know he’s interesting and you want to get to know him better, but he’s… Complicated.”

Galo cocked his head, not fully understanding Aina. “What do you mean?”

“Galo, he’s been through so much…. Please don’t expect him to open up immediately, okay?”

At that moment Galo felt a little pang of jealousy in his heart. How come Aina got to talk to Lio and hear his sad background story, when he didn’t even want to sit next to Galo? It wasn’t fair. But in the end Galo just nodded and said his goodbyes to Aina, still feeling that slight burn of jealousy in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was the chapter! Hope you enjoyed it ^^
> 
> Comments and kudos are much appreciated ^-^
> 
> Also, I have a twitter! Go give it a follow if you want to ^^
> 
> https://twitter.com/MpregPlease


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: This chapter will contain an anxiety attack. IF you get easily affected by reading about anxiety attacks, I suggest you don't read this chapter ^^'
> 
> Also, I'm so sorry for the long wait for replies to comments, but to be honest, it's because I go back to them several times because I get so happy reading them each time ^^'

It took two days before Galo had to go to work again. He really didn’t want to, didn’t want to leave Lio alone, but if anything, Lio encouraged it. Maybe he was tired of the company, or maybe he wanted to be alone… Galo didn’t know but he had to make a living, so he left Lio with some food, the tv remote, and the promise of coming home as soon as possible.

Lio sat in front of the tv when Galo went out of the door, looking like he was really interested in what was going on in the tv show he was watching. But 10 minutes after Galo was gone, he glanced towards the door, gears turning in his head.

Slowly getting his now a bit stronger body off the couch, Lio went to check Galo’s closets. He kept looking around until he found a rather large backpack. It was perfect for what he had in mind _._

He didn’t want to just look for things, oh no, Lio actually had a plan: Get clothes, get food, get the fuck out of there.

If Lio were to live in Galo’s apartment, he would be Galo’s pet forever. There was no future, no real life in waiting all day for him to come home and cook his food for him. It was almost as good as being drugged in a storage room, where he would be raped every once in a while. No, he had to escape, and since he had the chance now, he used it as best as he could.

Gathering clothes he deemed would fit him, he found it difficult not to look at the clock every 30 seconds. It might be a short time, but for him it lasted for an eternity. And if Galo came home early, his plan would be ruined and Galo might lock him up for good, just like Kray had done.

In the end he grabbed the sandwich Galo had made for him and stuffed it in the bag. He also found some crackers and a bottled water, which he put into the bag as well. But when he grabbed the last pack of crackers, he saw the bag of tiny marshmallows sit on the shelf. They reminded him of Aina, the first kind soul he had met in what felt like years… He would miss her, even if he had only known her for a couple of days, but this was the best for all of them. Having connections to a breeder would only have bad consequences, and Lio truly wished the best for Aina. Galo however… Galo could fuck right off. He didn’t trust the larger man one bit, and he was glad he could get away from him.

When he was done, he stood in front of the door for a minute, taking a deep breath before he could open it. There was a whole new world outside, one that he didn’t know anything about. Hell, he hadn’t even talked to other people than Kray, Galo and Aina in years. There was bound to be some obstacles when he went out. But he had done similar things before. Lio had escaped the police and lived to tell the tale. Well, not tell it to a lot of people, but he had survived the special forces that were called Freeze Force, and he had every intention of doing it again.

Stepping out, Lio looked both ways inside the hallway. There was no one to stop him, and he smirked a little. This was going to be child’s play.

Or at least he thought so.

When Lio went outside, a harsh wind blew directly into his face. As he looked around, he saw that there were a lot of people around, but he could deal with that. Even if his heart rate sped up, he began scouting out the area, hoping to find a place he could spend the night. That was his initial goal: Shelter, then getting changed, because it was cold as if hell had frozen over.

He found a park after going for a couple of minutes, but he couldn’t be happy about it since he kept glancing around. With the way people were looking at him, he knew it wouldn’t be long before they called the cops on him.

As the minutes passed, his heart rate got even quicker, his breathing shallow and rapid, and even if the people around him seemed to ignore him a little before, they were definitely staring at him now.

There were people all over the place. They were looking at him, whispering things, pointing at him. He felt worse with every passing second, and it showed.

Lio looked down on his hands and saw that they were shaking. Actually, his entire body was shaking, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or the anxiety flowing through him.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck!_ This wasn’t how it was supposed to go! He was supposed to be free, he was supposed to go wherever he wanted, and he was supposed to live a life he wanted! Not this… This feeling that blocked his thoughts and made him a stranger to himself.

Lio knew who he was. He was strong, feisty, a fighter. Even after months of imprisonment he still fought Kray with tooth and nail when he could, even going as far as trying to end it all, just to get away from Kray. But this? This trembling body and frightened mind? They seemed so alien to him, yet here they were, taking over everything that he was.

Staggering to the side, he managed to sit down on a nearby bench, not that he could feel it, with his head in his hands as the scenery twisted into the worst things he could imagine. He wanted to close his eyes, but he was scared that it might provoke even worse things to come to mind. Flexing his fingers, he tried to feel if they were there. But it was difficult when you were numb to the world. Yet he tried drumming his fingers against his arms, and when that didn’t work, he tried scratching himself to see if that would help. All the while one of his legs were bouncing, but he couldn’t even feel it.

And the sounds. Suddenly the sounds were too loud, then he couldn’t hear anything at all. “Please stop, please stop…!” Came his shaky voice, but it was like it came from a mile away.

It was official: Lio had lost his mind. And there was nothing he could do about it.

But then he heard a voice, one he had heard before.

“-na, he’s over here!”

He looked up but saw nothing, Everything was distorted and he felt like his mind was playing a trick on him, but then another voice cut in, one he also recognised.

“Lio!”

“Aina…?”

Something touched him, and it made Lio flinch as he couldn’t see what touched him. For all he knew, it could be a monster, a policeman, or worst of all: It could be Kray.

“Lio, we’re here…! Talk to us!” Came Aina’s voice again, but he couldn’t see her.

It was a trick. It had to be. “G-Go away! You’re not real!” Lio cried out, his hands wrapping around himself.

Minutes of muffled arguing passed by, and Lio was sure he had gone crazy, but then something… Warm was wrapped around him. It had a distinct smell as well, one he could recognise. And slowly, he could hear Galo talking to him, a worried, but calm voice.

“Lio, it’s okay. We’re here. We’re here now. You don’t have to feel bad anymore.”

Was it really Galo’s voice he heard? Or was it just another trick his mind had made up to torture him even further?

But the smell of Galo, and the warm thing around him were calming, and slowly, but surely, Lio calmed down enough for him to see clearly. He saw Galo standing in front of him in the darkness only illuminated by streetlights, Aina at his side. Lio realised that Galo looked cold, that he wasn’t wearing his jacket… And then looked down when he felt the warm feeling continue. It wasn’t Galo who was touching him, but Galo’s jacket. Its smell brought him back, and Lio could breathe easier, as did he stop scratching himself, the jerky movements slowed to a halt.

Lio still felt anxious, but it wasn’t as bad as before, when he couldn’t do anything. But now he could at least think clearly, and Aina and Galo could see that on him.

“Lio, can I touch you?” Aina asked carefully, and when he nodded slowly, she took off Galo’s jacket of Lio, making him feel cold immediately. But it was only to remove the backpack on his back, so that he could feel a bit lighter. When she touched his arms, she got chills. “Lio, you’re so cold… How long have you been out here?”

Lio stiffened when Aina touched him, but frankly he felt too tired to care, and he just wanted to go up into the safety of Galo’s apartment again. “I dunno… Time flies by when you can’t sense it.”

Aina wrapped the oversized jacket around him again afterwards, and Galo took the backpack, and soon they were on their way back to the apartment.

The lethargic feeling continued, even as they went back to the staircase, and Lio had to lean on Aina all the way up. For some reason he couldn’t stand the thought of Galo touching him, even if his smell was comforting… He just wanted to get back in bed and shut everything out. Maybe even sleep a little, because he felt so tired and lethargic.

Aina helped him into bed, and when she was about to take Galo’s jacket off him again, he gave her a pleading look. “Leave it… Please.” Came his tired voice. And who was Aina to deny his simple request. So she left him in the dark, leaving the door open just a bit, then went out to Galo who was putting away the contents of the bag.

It was quiet for a while, a somber mood spreading in the room. Neither of them were really up for talking, but they had to talk about what just happened.

“Guess I’m not as good a host as I thought I would be…” Mumbled Galo, eyes downcast.

Aina came up beside him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You are, you just have to give him some time… And space, too.”

Galo sighed. “That’s all I do. I try to be considerate, but…”

“It’s hard?”

Nodding slowly, Galo putting the last pack of crackers on the shelf and closed the cabinet. “I don’t know what to do… And I don’t want to upset him even further.”

Aina removed her hand from Galo’s shoulder, but kept standing at his side, eyes downcast. “Maybe… Maybe you can take classes?”

That sparked Galo’s interest. “Classes in what? Learning how to be a good host?”

Aina rolled her eyes and slapped Galo’s arm. “No, you idiot. Classes on how to care for people with anxiety. And PTSD as well.”

Galo looked in awe at Aina, and he hugged her tightly as he joyfully exclaimed: “Aina, you’re a genius!”

“Shhhh!” Aina shushed him. “You’re gonna wake up Lio!”

Galo let go of Aina and laughed sheepishly, but the grin on his face never left.

He would sign up for classes in the morning, so he could be a better person… For Lio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this far, I hope the anxiety attack wasn't too horrible (it's my first time writing one, so please bear with me ^^')
> 
> As always, I am MpregPlease on Twitter, so go follow me if want to ^^
> 
> https://twitter.com/MpregPlease


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for another update! ^^
> 
> This time we get a touching reunion with Lio and his childhood friends, I hope you'll like it ^^
> 
> TW for mentioned rape, though it's only once and very briefly... But still, I don't want anyone to feel bad ^^'
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter ^^

It took a week before the meeting with The Two Blades could be arranged. Thyma was kind enough to explain that it was just a short fan meeting, because The Two Blades were usually very busy, being a band and doing concerts every so often.

Lio was not that anxious to begin with, but as the week passed on, the anxiety grew steadily. Even though Aina came over every day, and Galo brought home pizza every time he asked for it, Lio couldn’t help but worry.

What if they didn’t recognize him? Or even worse, what if they did recognize him, but decided that they didn’t want anything to do with him?

Lio found himself unable to eat more than necessary, nerves getting the best of him, and even though he was slowly gaining weight, it didn’t go as fast as either Galo or Aina would have wanted.

“Lio, don’t you want some more?” Aina asked kindly on the day The Two Blades would arrive, but when Lio shook his head at the offered slice of pizza, her brow furrowed in worry.

“I’m stuffed…” He said, leaning back and sighing.

Aina didn’t buy it for one second. “You’ve barely eaten one slice!”

Lio repated himself, this time a bit more tense. “I said, _I’m stuffed_.”

“Come on, you gotta eat some more!” Aina tried again, but Lio didn’t budge.

“Which part of it don’t you understand? I’m so fucking nauseou-“ Lio stopped himself before he could say anything that would expose too much, but it was too late. Aina had already placed the slice of pizza in the box again, looking at him with a clear understanding in her eyes all of a sudden.

She knew. She knew why he was nauseous. He was anxious because the meeting with The Two Blades meant a lot to him. “Oh, Lio…”

Galo looked back and forth between the girl and the boy, completely confused. He wanted to ask, wanted to know what was going on, but sometimes words just made things worse. In this case, it was like that too.

“I don’t need your pity.” Lio spat, eyes narrowed in unmistakable anger. Then, without another word, he got up and went straight for the bedroom to sit and brood over it. With the way the door slammed, it was clear that he didn’t want to be disturbed.

Aina sighed in defeat, while Galo just ate the leftover slices. At least something good came out of it. Well, to him, at least.

-

No longer than 3 hours later did a knock sound on the door. Lio could hear it from the bedroom, flinching when it resounded throughout the apartment. It wasn’t even that loud, but Lio swore he could feel the knocking sound deep in his chest, along with his heart, which was pounding thunderously in his ears and left little room for breathing in his throat.

_Fuck. I don’t want to do this. I really, really don’t want to do this._

But soon he could hear 3 strangers’ voices, a girl and two boys. Or, he would rather call them men… Had they grown that much? And without him? The voices were confident, strong. And here he was, a malnourished runt who couldn’t even go outside without getting an anxiety attack.

How could he ever face them? The Lio he had left them with was a cheeky brat, always confident and quick-witted. Now? He wasn’t even a fraction of what he had been back then. Years of imprisonment and rape had reduced him to a hollow shell of himself, and-

“You can come out now!”

It was Galo’s voice. Galo wanted him to come out and meet them. Maybe he had already told them about him? About how strong, brave Galo saved a weak, defenseless breeder from an unimaginable fate.

No. He wouldn’t be that person anymore. He was not weak. He was not defenseless. Lio was Lio, and he was the person he wanted to be. With a determined nod, Lio sat his feet on the floor… But he couldn’t get up. He tried, tried to move himself from the bed, but his legs wouldn’t carry him.

As he sat there, feeling more miserable with every passing second, the door opened quietly, carefully. And as the little ray of light shone into the room, Lio could only sit and watch in terror as a person entered. He looked away, shameful of his appearance and behaviour, but then he heard the person’s voice.

“Guess it’s harder than I thought…”

Lio glanced in the direction of the voice, which belonged to a certain blue haired fellow. Feeling relieved that he wasn’t facing either of his childhood friends, Lio finally faced Galo, who stood at his side.

“May I?” Galo said as he gestured to the spot beside Lio on the bed.

Lio just shrugged. He didn’t say anything, there really was no need for it. He still felt exposed, even in Galo’s large hoodie and sweatpants. He knew his cheekbones were very visible, and his eyes were still a bit sunken. Lio looked better no doubt, but he still wasn’t in a place he liked yet.

That didn’t bother Galo, oh no, he saw Lio’s beauty no matter how he looked, because he saw what was within. He could tell Lio was struggling, but he couldn’t exactly tell him that Lio was beautiful when he, a week later, still wasn’t that comfortable with Galo.

“… You changed your mind?” Galo asked, voice soft. He wasn’t judging Lio, neither was he pitying him. It was just a simple question, one which was asked carefully as to not upset the frail boy.

“I don’t know…” Lio replied, shrugging once again. “I just feel weird about it. I don’t know if it makes sense, but I don’t know if… If they want to see me like, like this.”

“Oh, but it does make sense.” Galo deadpanned.

“What?”

“Yeah, you’re kind of in a tight spot, because you want to see them, but you’re not quite ready yet.”

Lio gaped at Galo. What he had seen as an idiot, turned out to be a bit perceptive almost-genius. Or maybe he had just gotten lucky… Either way, Galo had hit the nail on the head.

When Lio kept quiet, Galo spoke again: “You know, you don’t _have_ to go out there. We can always find another day to meet. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind rescheduling.”

Lio seemed to mull it over, but there was a strong resolve in him. If Galo understood him, maybe… “Would you… Would you help me? If it becomes too much, I mean.”

Galo grinned, his usually idiotic features showing how happy he was, even in the dim lights of the room. “Of course! Just rely on me, okay?”

And so, together, they stood up and walked towards the door. And with a reassuring breath, Lio let Galo open the door, letting Galo go into the room first.

-

“Hi, you’re the one who wanted a fan meeti…” Gueira’s voice trailed off as Lio revaled himself from behind Galo.

Lio looked shy, and he was fidgeting with the drawstrings of the hoodie he was wearing. But when he finally looked up from the floor, he gave the two gaping men a hesitant smile.

Meis was the first one to regain his ability to speak. “Boss…?”

Aina and Galo gave each other a questioning look, Galo mumbling “Boss? Boss, how?”, but giving Meis a short nod, Lio confirmed it. He soon regretted it, as Gueira pounched at him and embraced him, tears and snot running down his face. “Boss! Boss! You’re really the Boss!”

Lio flinched as soon as Gueira touched him, but he tried to will himself to relax. He hesitantly rubbed Gueira’s back as the latter bawled. Meis, however, was more skeptical.

“Are you really the Boss?”

“Y-Yeah…” Lio gulped.

“Prove it.”

Lio froze right then and there. How was he supposed to prove that he knew these people? He had clung to those memories when he was captured, trying to stay sane in a world of insanity, but now that his social life depended on it, he couldn’t remember a single thing.

“I… I-“

“Boss, remember the pool?” Gueira interrupted, earning himself a disdainful look from Meis.

Lio seemed to remember that… Actually, he seemed to remember a couple of things. “Yeah, we… We always bathed at Meis’ family’s swimming pool. You…” And at that moment, Lio seemed to smile at a newfound memory. “Meis peed in the swimming pool and then somehow convinced them that it was Gueira.”

Gueira let go of Lio and turned to Meis, who looked shocked now that his secret was out. “ _You_ were the one who peed in the pool?! How dare you? I spent literal _hours_ trying to apologise to your parents!”

“It’s not my fault!” Meis tried to counter, but it wasn’t very effective.

“Then whose fault is it? ‘Cause I don’t see it being Lio’s faul-“

The argument was interrupted when they heard a belly-deep, genuine laughter from Lio. To Galo, it sounded like an angelic choir, but he was pretty sure he was the only one who heard that, and that made him blush a bit.

But it didn’t matter. Because Lio was finally _happy_. Galo looked at Lio with a soft smile, not realising the conversation had continued without him. It wasn’t until Aina shoved her elbow into his side, that he came back to the real world, and he let out a confused “Huh?” when Aina gestured to Meis, who had been talking to Galo.

“Uh… Can you repeat that?” Galo said sheepishly, scratching the back of neck in embarrassment.

“I said, I brought my guitar in case the ‘fans’ wanted to hear us play... But there’s not really need for it now, is there?” Meis repeated with a slight smile.

Lio seemed sad for some reason, and Galo had an inkling it had something to do with the lack of music. “Oh, no no! I mean yes! I mean, I would love to hear you play… Right, Aina?”

Aina gave him a look of ‘You’re really dragging me into this’, but ended up smiling anyway. “I mean, I can always hear Thyma sing… But sure, I would love it, too.”

The Two Blades all smiled, and Meis went to grab his acoustic guitar from the apartment’s entrance. Lio, Galo and Aina went to sit at the sofa, and this time Lio didn’t care that he was sitting next to Galo. Galo, of course, didn’t mind it at all. And when the tones could be heard from Meis’ guitar and Thyma’s voice, he watched Lio’s face all the time.

He saw how Lio lit up, looking in awe at the harmonious duo, while Gueira was playing airdrums in the background. And once again, he felt his heart swell because of the blond boy with the dark past. Because at that moment, neither the past nor the future mattered. It was all about the present. And what a present that was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I gave myself feels writing the reunion ;_;
> 
> Still I hope you enjoyed the chapter ^^
> 
> Kudos and comments are much appreciated ^^
> 
> As always, twitter is Mpregplease / https://twitter.com/MpregPlease

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this far :D
> 
> I've decided to make this fic multichaptered, so please leave kudos and comments if you liked it, they're what keeps me going :D


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